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says in Galatians 2:21

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

The word translated "frustrate" here is the Greek "atheteo" [Strong's number 114] and which the lexicon defines as: to set aside, that is, (by implication) to disesteem, neutralize, or violate: cast off, despise, disannul, frustrate, bring to nought, reject'.

Is that strong enough? (No pun intended) Or could it be any clearer?

But one of Paul's most misquoted and misunderstood teachings is found in Romans 5:20,

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

This single verse or the teaching that Paul based it on was used as a stick to beat him with in his own day, by those who thought it meant that he was teaching license by it.

In fact, what he is saying is the opposite.

Paul's point was always that the law did not make man a sinner; the law merely revealed that man was a sinner by nature by affording him the opportunity to flout it.

In other words, until God gave man the law, man was unaware that he was spiritually dead. Then God would hold up the law like a mirror to reveal man's true fallen nature to himself.

Put it like this. In Britain it is illegal to smoke in a public building, restaurant or pub. It is also illegal to drive a motor vehicle while using a mobile phone.

However, these acts have only existed as criminal offences since Parliament made them so. So, could such acts be harmful before they were made illegal? The answer is yes, but no-one was guilty of them before the law until Parliament said so.

Likewise, God's law in the Bible. Man has been a sinner since Eden, but God did not execute Cain for murdering his brother Abel, because murder had not yet been deemed against the law.

In the beginning there was only one law, and man broke it. Later God gave Moses ten definitive laws which man expanded into 613. Today we have lost count.

Is man today any more of a sinner than Adam? No. But he is a whole lot more aware of it.

No-one goes to hell because they stole, or lied or even murdered. They go to hell if they reject God's sole provision for their redemption from the penalty for such sins: Jesus!

Jesus said as much in John 3:17-19.

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

"He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the

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